It's funny how people have a way of rationalising things. He couldn't believe that people believed the fires were caused by an electrical fault.

Millions of people had seen images of a man with lightning coming out of his hands. It hadn't been easy finding the eye-witnesses and Ret-conning them. It had also been a huge hit on You Tube and it had taken a long time for the rumour to spread that it had been a magic trick and no-one seemed bothered when it suddenly disappeared.

Now a year down the line, it had been forgotten, as the world and its problems moved on, and for that Jack was very grateful.

Jack filed the last of the reports, even though he know Ianto would file the again. It had been a long year, a year since the Master's escape…Seska's resurrection and the Doctor's death.

He was still at a loss as to how all of it had happened and he supposed he would never know.

Since then he'd dealt with countless alien incursions, but still he wanted to settle things between him and the Master.

His team arriving distracted him and he knew he had to start the day. As he left the office he looked at a photo on the wall; a photo of himself and a tall man with a smile that never reached his eyes….except in this one….it had been a good day.

"Gwen, get me the files….." and he was out of the door, unaware that today was going to be the best day for a very long time.


In another star system a holy place was being desecrated.

"Tear this place apart….find the artefact."

A trembling acolyte was pushed in front of the person who had given the order.

"Where is the high priest?"

When an answer wasn't forthcoming, he shot the acolyte in the head.

"Sir," a voice said in his ear. "We've found the artefact and the high priest."

"Then it's time to leave. Kill everyone else and burn this place."

The man walked away from the burning site, not taking any notice of the gunshots. He carried a box and behind him an old man was dragged in chains.

A little later a shuttle landed and a figure that had been waiting moved forward.

"You have it?"

"Yes, my Lord Seska, and we have the high priest as well."

"Good," Seska said and took the box. "Have the priest taken to my laboratory. Well done, my father will reward you."

"And when will we have our next location?"

"As soon as I can rip it from the priest's mind," another voice said.

The whole group came to attention.

"Father," Seska said. "We have it, the sixth artefact."

His father said nothing and dismissed the soldiers with a wave of his hand.

"Walk with me," he finally said.


Seska was unsure on what was going to happen, his father rarely saw or spoke to him in person.

"These artefacts?" his father said, looking at the object in the box. "How sure are you that they will work?"

Seska hesitated, he could hear the doubt in his father's voice. He didn't blame him; hopes had been raised and then dashed too many times.

"Many have died to protect these artefacts. That tells me there must be something to the stories."

His father stopped and turned towards him.

"Be careful Seska, do not be overconfident."

Seska shook his head, "I promised I would find a way. I will do what it takes."

His father gave him a ghost of a smile and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You grow more like your mother every day. I hope one day he will see the Time Lord you have become."

His father left him then and Seska stood on his own. It had been a long year, a year of following tales of mythical objects and half-truths of magical elixirs. The trail of destruction they'd left hadn't gone unnoticed, and now his father was preparing his army for war.

He'd been driving his scientists hard, as he knew his father wanted his mother to be there when he finally struck back.

If he was right, that time would be soon, all he needed now was the seventh and last artefact. That was why he'd kept the high priest alive; he knew the location of it.

He sighed and went back to work…back to his quest to bring life to his mother.


The Master left his son after their talk in a slightly better mood. Seska sounded confident, that this time it would work.

They had come so close the last time, with that elixir. His hearts had even beaten, but he'd never taken a breath. He barely acknowledged the soldiers that saluted him as he entered a very special room.

It was adorned with the colours of his and the Doctor's house…the colours of royalty. He walked up to the figure that was lying inside a stasis chamber.

He reached out a hand, wishing he could reach through and touch, but he couldn't. He withdrew his hand and stepped back.

"Soon, Si'arila," he said and placed a hand over his suit pocket. "Soon….then we shall be together."

He left the room and decided it was time to quicken the pace; he would have that location now.

The whole laboratory seemed to tense when he walked in…good; they still feared him. He was wandering round looking at the work in progress…now he could see what he was doing. That was what the artefact was.

"Father?" Seska said as he walked out of another room. He looked stressed and unhappy. "Is there a problem?"

"No, I can see what this does now."

"It took me a while to work it out, but I need the last artefact. Without that, it will not work and the priest refuses to give me the location."

"I can help with that," the Master said.

Everyone in the lab tried not to listen to the screams coming from the other room, but they couldn't fail to notice the Lord Master and The Lord Seska re-enter the lab.

The Lord Master's clothes were spattered with blood and there was a grim look on his face and the Lord Seska look decidedly unhappy.

Seska stormed into the flight deck of his father's cruiser and snarled out his orders.

"Recall the army and set new co-ordinates."

"Where, my Lord?"


The Master re-entered the stasis room and went right up to it.

"The time is coming Eresh'ala…we have the location of the last artefact, and guess where it is? We can find Jakaar and then we can turn the Earth to ashes."